The Legendary Three
by WhiteSnakeRebirth
Summary: Ever wondered what really happened between them? When did the sannin began to walk their separate paths? Embark on Jiraiya's pervy adventures, the death of Orochimaru's parents, and Tsunade's crush on...who? Pairings included.
1. Mission: Rescue Jiraiya!

**~The Toad, The Slug, and the Snake~**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does, but if I did, Orochimaru would have a gaiden! *-* Please review! :3

When the legendary sannin were children, Jiraiya was the knucklehead who failed at everything, Tsunade was the high-spirited and determined kunoichi with unrivalled strength, and Orochimaru was the mysterious, withdrawn prodigy. Each had their own strengths and faults, but it was for their amazing talents, feats and adventures they earlier embarked on which made them so legendary.

* * *

Tsunade had just passed her academy exam, and she wasn't sure to be ecstatic or nervous. In a way, she was both, as she scanned around the classroom, trying to easily determine who would be in her group. Tsunade already knew she couldn't be on a team with another kunoichi, so she turned her attention to the boys. Her eyes were instantly drawn to someone in particular: Orochimaru. His snake-like eyes were focused directly forward, and he was the only person in the classroom that didn't fidget, complain, or do both.

_I hope he's in my group, _she thought, rather anxiously. She was curious about the pale-skinned, emotionless boy. All the teachers held him in very high regard, he allegedly was a prodigy, and she also knew he was an orphan.

"Okay, everyone, settle down, settle down. I will call out the team number and the team members. Please listen carefully!" the teacher roared.

Tsunade wasn't particularly interested in hearing about the other groups, instead, she listened for other names..

"Team seven…consists of…Orochimaru…" the teacher began.

Instantly, Tsunade's attention was captivated. But not only she, everyone in the whole room suddenly became alert. Tsunade knew the fangirls were hoping to be on his team, and the boys were all looking for their chance to have Orochimaru as competition.

"Tsunade…"

_Yes!_ She thought, excited. Her female classmates turned to look at her, rather enviously. Tsunade ignored their glares, waiting for the third name. She knew there had to be another male in her group, as there were less kunoichi than male ninja and each team consisted of two males and one female. She could only hope the other male wouldn't be annoying..

Being the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju could be a pain sometimes.

"….Jiraiya.."

_Who's Jiraiya? _Tsunade thought, turning her head. Too many people were blocking her view, so she didn't get the chance to see her third teammate.

"…and Hiruzen Sarutobi as team leader."

Tsunade inwardly groaned. She'd heard of Sarutobi-sensei, all right. He was _not_ known to be lenient. Not to mention that he was the student of Tobirama Senju, her grand-uncle, which likely meant he'd go strict on her for her to live up to the Senju clan.

Oh well, at least she had Orochimaru on her team. This was going to be interesting.

-x-

The next day, Tsunade ran quickly, finally finding Team Seven's assigned classroom. _I'm late! _She thought, panicking. She had barely gotten any sleep the previous night, and thus had woken up late. Her stomach clenched in anxiety, she was rarely late, but on their first get-together as a team? She certainly didn't want to be reprimanded on her first day of Team Seven. She was the granddaughter of the first Hokage, after all.

Slowly, she knocked the door.

"Come in," came Hiruzen Sarutobi's gruff voice.

She opened the door, tense, and let herself in. There stood Sarutobi-sensei, arms folded, with Orochimaru and a white-haired boy turning to look at her.

The white-haired boy walked toward her, eagerly, a slight blush on his cheeks, while a more withdrawn Orochimaru lingered at his side, eyeing Tsunade shyly.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Jiraiya! You can send me love letters!" he said, rather fastidiously, raising his hand for her to shake it.

Tsunade's temper instantly flared. All thoughts of Sarutobi-sensei rebuking her were forgotten.

"I'm Tsunade…and no way!" _Who does he think he is, asking me to send him love letters? We've never even met!" _

She made up her mind on the spot to dislike him. She looked at Jiraiya's hand, and ignored it.

"Why not?" asked Jiraiya, a bit crestfallen. He let his hand drop.

"Just because," Tsunade crossed her arms, and held her head high. _He's so annoying!_

"Aw..well I'm not giving up so easily! This is Orochimaru," Jiraiya introduced, pushing the dark-haired boy forward.

_Okay, well he's not annoying._

"Oh! H-hi, my name is Tsunade!" she smiled at him, raising her hand for him to shake it.

He didn't say or do anything, but merely looked at her, wide-eyed.

"I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi, your team leader," said Sarutobi sensei. "I expect good teamwork and vast improvement to all three of you," he began.

"Aw, not that speech again," Jiraiya groaned.

"Hey, have some manners!" Tsunade scolded Jiraiya, though secretly she agreed with him.

Orochimaru remained quiet and attentive.

That was how team Hiruzen formed, when Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya graduated from the academy at the age of six.

And thus, our story begins.

-X-

"What?" Jiraiya fell in the river?" Tsunade screeched, putting her hands to her hips. "I can't believe he'd do something like that..oh he's such a knucklehead!"

Orochimaru smirked, crossing his arms.

"Why do we have to save Jiraiya from a BUCKET hanging over a WATERFALL, at the end of that river?" Tsunade yelled loudly.

Sarutobi-sensei sighed.

"..and how did he even get there? Sarutobi sensei, can't we get a better mission? Right, Orochimaru?" she asked, turning to her teammate for justification.

"Right."

_Yes! He agrees with me! _She thought, anger eased a bit.

"See Sarutobi-sensei? Even Orochimaru agrees with me," Tsunade said, deliberately rubbing it in her sensei's face, then crossed her arms in triumph.

"Now, now, Tsunade, rescuing Jiraiya from a waterfall will surely improve your kunoichi tactics!" Sarutobi-sensei said, rather exasperated.

Orochimaru didn't reply, just studied both of them espressionlessly.

"How is that gonna help? Jiraiya can get stuck there for the rest of his life for all I care! Hmph!" Tsunade said in defiance.

Sarutobi sensei sighed in dismay. This bratty kunoichi was a stubborn one. Well, he should've expected that from his sensei's grand niece.

"Let's go, Tsunade," came a calm voice. Orochimaru sounded slightly annoyed, though for what, she wasn't sure.

"Oh, all right.." she inwardly groaned. Orochimaru had the persuasive powers of a god.

"Alright. It is now 9 AM, meet me back at this spot right at noon," Sarutobi sensei said, smiling a bit. Orochimaru certainly was the decision maker on their team.

Orochimaru turned and looked at Tsunade. Blushing a little, she nodded, before they ran off, arms held high, to the Leaf Village Dumpster.

* * *

"Ew, this place REEKS!" Tsunade commented, clamping one hand over her nose and using her other hand to fan away the stinking fumes.

"I've smelled worse," Orochimaru said, expressionlessly, staring at the ground.

She turned to look at him. _What could be possibly worse than this?_

"Like what?" Tsunade asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"The stench of dead, rotting bodies…" he said, almost in a whisper. A sudden remembrance of the death of his parents.

Tsunade shuddered.

"I don't think I want to know anymore…" Tsunade said.

Orochimaru wasn't paying attention. He was quietly studying the distance, trying to locate a target.

"Look there," he pointed.

Tsunade looked. In a separate hill quite distant away from the dumpster was a waterfall. That must be the one Jiraiya had gotten himself in.

"Wow, you found it already!" Tsunade grinned.

Orochimaru was already walking away. "Let's go," he said, stopping to look behind at Tsunade, then sped off.

"Hey! Orochimaru, wait up!"

They ran, side by side, wind blowing their hair back, until they reached the end of the river that stooped deeply to reveal a crashing waterfall. (This was the very same waterfall Naruto would later use to train with his shadow clones.)

A large wooden bucket was attached to a tree, a rope holding it in place.

Tsunade and Orochimaru stared, and then Tsunade burst into raucous laughter.

"Hahaha! How did Jiraiya manage to get stuck up there?"

Orochimaru narrowed his snakelike eyes. _That little brat, _he thought.

Tsunade picked up a twig and threw it at the bucket. The twig ricocheted off.

"Jirraaaiiiiiyaaaa! Knucklehead, you in there?" Tsunade cat-called, hands over her mouth.

"Tsunade? Is that you?" A faint muffled voice came from within the bucket.

"Yes!" Tsunade called out.

"Then get me outta here! Helllpppp!"

Tsunade turned to look at Orochimaru. No doubt he'd be formulating a new plan. Tsunade knew she was intelligent, but she was all too busy thinking of ways to bash in Jiraiya's head than saving him. That was all up to Orochimaru.

"What do we do? I'm not sure how to get him out of there without falling out," she said, nervously.

He didn't reply, seemingly studying the waterfall.

Tsunade sighed, not wanting to disturb his thoughts. Okay, so she couldn't lean over and untie the rope, big deal. She narrowed her eyes, more carefully studying the positioning of the tree. It was tottering at the end of the hill where the waterfall began. It looked like it was going to snap any minute now.

"Okay, I guess we'll have to cut the rope," Tsunade said.

Orochimaru brought out a kunai, and proceeded to cut the rope.

"Tsunade, grab hold of the bucket."

Using her strength, she managed to lift the bucket about a tenth of a decimetre.

_Holy crap! _Jiraiya was heavier than she thought, panting heavily.

Orochimaru was having some difficulty cutting the rope. There seemed to be an amount of chakra embedded in it.

"This isn't an ordinary rope," he muttered, gritting his sharp teeth.

The tree roots were giving away from Tsunade's strength. She tried to take a step, but lost her footing.

Uh oh.

"WHOAAAAA!"

The tree snapped, sending Tsunade, Orochimaru, the bucket, the tree, as well as all their ninja tools straight down the waterfall. She was hurtling down the waterfall at an alarming rate, so fast she could barely hear her own earsplitting scream, or the rushing air, or the deafening sound of the churning water. Adrenaline was surging through her veins, and suddenly she was flying, falling without any hope of getting back up. She could feel Orochimaru's exhilaration, he was enjoying the fall, enjoying the surge of air. He looked so..._free. _

There was no time to control chakra to the soles of their feet on a waterfall. The only thing Tsunade could now hear was the terrified yell of Jiraiya until…

SPLASH!

Tsunade's ears were ringing from the inpact, the breath knocked out of her. She couldn't regain her energy to control chakra, and her mind starting spinning. Unable to move or see her surroundings, she sank, down, deeper, below into the river, her consciousness slowly drifting away from her.

* * *

As her head cleared slowly, Tsunade eventually became aware of the warmth that surrounded her. She felt her nausea ease away, and found she was able to breathe easily against it. Despite her holder's hands being ice-cold, his body was not, and she felt herself relishing in the warmth, listening to the gentle rhythm of a heartbeat.

Wait.

A heartbeat?

Tsunade's eyes snapped open to meet tan slit-pupiled eyes. She almost screamed in fright before she realized it was only her teammate. Orochimaru was gazing down at her in surprise. He was looking at her so intensely, she thought he could see far down into the depths of her soul. Tsunade squirmed, she felt her face getting warm.

"Oh, you're awake."

Tsunade shook her head, spraying droplets of water everywhere, and Orochimaru, seeing she was perfectly fine, released his hold on her. She took a step back, somewhat awkwardly.

Blushing and unaware of where to look, she said, "Thanks, Orochimaru-kun...you saved me.

He didn't reply, but continued to study her. His expression became even more unreadable.

Tsunade realized with a start that they were both soaking wet. Her own blue yukata clung to her budding breasts, and Orochimaru's white robe clung to his pale, delicate skin.

Averting his gaze, Tsunade's blush deepened.

Orochimaru smirked slightly.

"GET ME OUTTA HERE NOW!," an annoying voice shouted.

_Grr…just when me and Orochimaru get a moment to ourselves_! Tsunade thought. _That little Jiraiya! He always gets in the way!_

She stood up, and put her hands to her sides, glaring at the bucket.

"Get YOURSELF out of there!" Tsunade shouted, a vein bulging in her temple.

"B-but I'm stuck!" Jiraiya replied, sounding a bit taken aback at Tsunade's harsh tone. Tsunade was almost always harsh towards him, but it was rare for her voice to take such an edge.

"Too bad!" Tsunade stuck out her tongue at the bucket, although Jiraiya couldn't see it.

"Hey! Easy for you to say, you flat-chested dog!" screeched Jiraiya.

That did it.

Now Tsunade was mad. Really mad. And as we all know, an angry Tsunade wasn't a Tsunade you'd want to reckon with.

POWWWWW!

"SHANNAROO!" Tsunade shouted, punching the bucket with all her might. The impact of the punch knocked Jiraiya straight through the bucket, leaving it to collapse.

Jiraiya went flying about a hundred feet away, shouting, "WHOAAAA! While Tsunade stood visibly fuming, a vein popping in her temple, with Orochimaru standing at a distance, shocked at the intensity of her punch and rather amused at the same time.

"Ouch!" Jiraiya groaned, limping back with a swelling the size of a soccer ball on his cheek, as well as a black eye.

"Hmph, serves you right!" Tsunade pulled down one of her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

Orochimaru came sauntering towards Jiraiya. "How exactly did you manage to get yourself stuck in a bucket?" he asked, rather disdainly.

"Yeah, that's what I'd like to know, too," Tsunade chimed in.

"Yesterday night, I went for a walk, and a bucket started moving!" Jiraiya began energetically.

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow, turning to look at Orochimaru. He had an annoyed expression on his face, but nevertheless interested in what Jiraiya had to say.

"That's the stupidest story I've ever heard!" Tsunade exclaimed, not bothering to hold back her annoyance, at the sheer ridiculousnous of the story.

_How pathetic…_Orochimaru thought inwardly. _He's making something up._

Jiraiya's dark eyes flashed. "It isn't!" Jiraiya responded, indignant.

Tsunade sighed, her arms crossed. Still, she was curious, turning to look at Jiraiya.

"Yeah, yeah, so what happened after that?" she asked.

"Well…I took the bucket off, and a frog jumped out of it and attacked me! Wait, it was a toad..no, a frog. I don't remember..wait..it has to be a toa-"

"Just continue already!" Tsunade exclaimed, exasperated.

"Sheesh," Jiraiya spat on the ground, crossing his arms. "I took a step back and fell into the bucket, then it fell over the edge and then the lid got stuck and I couldn't get out! I was stuck here the whole night!" Jiraiya concluded, sounding rather surly.

Tsunade and Orochimaru sweatdropped.

"Jiraiya.." Tsunade uttered.

"Yes?" Jiraiya brightened. Maybe she would…

"…you're such a big loser!" she said scathingly.

Jiraiya's hopes died down, and the bright expression on him face vanished, replaced with a sulking look.

He, however, was not about to get used as a doormat.

"No, I'm not! You're a flat-chested dog!" Jiraiya retorted back.

"What did you just call me?" a vein once again bulged prominently in Tsunade's red temple.

"Flat-chested dog!"

"Loser!"

"FLAT-CHESTED DOG!"

"LOSER!"

"FLAT CHESTED DOGGGG!"

"ARRRRRGGHH YOU LOSE-"

"It's almost noon, we better go now." Orochimaru fixed them with a calm but measured expression, interrupting their little charade.

Instantly, Tsunade and Jiraiya's attention riveted back to Orochimaru.

_Unlike Jiraiya, he's sooo cool! _Tsunade thought.

"A-alright! Let's go!" Tsunade called out.

Instantly, they ran off in a flash.

"Hey! WAIT FOR MEEE!"

"You're LATE!" Sarutobi-sensei roared, his brow furrowed.

Tsunade and Jiraiya gulped, whereas Orochimaru looked on passively.

Tsunade stepped up.

"It was all Jiraiya's fault!" she spoke fiercely, trying to put as much anger in her voice as possible.

Jiraiya elbowed her.

"Don't listen to Tsunade, Sarutobi-sensei!" he rebutted. "It was all her fault, Tsunade snapped and punched me!"

"Jiraiya called me a flat-chested!" Tsunade screeched.

"She gave me this black eye!" he pointed at his swollen eye.

"He called me a dog! Do you know what they say a female dog is called, Sarutobi sensei?" she confronted.

"What are you saying?-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Sarutobi-sensei roared angrily.

Jiraiya and Tsunade froze.

Sighing just a little, Orochimaru walked away. All that racket was giving him a headache.

He was vaguely aware of Tsunade turning to watch him.

"Wait! Orochimaru, where are you going?"

He didn't reply, instead, turned to look at her.

"Wait up!" Tsunade ran to him, raising her hand, blond ponytail bobbing.

"Sorry about that, it's all just Jiraiya's fault," Tsunade panted, putting on her best smile.

Orochimaru didn't reply, just gazed at her. He wondered why Tsunade was always on his tail.

"HEY! Wait up, Tsunade, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya ran up to them, a stern Sarutobi-sensei lagging behind.

_Dammit! Why can't I spend some time alone with Orochimaru without _him _tagging along? _Tsunade thought, fuming.

Sarutobi-sensei couldn't hold back a small smile. _Well, looks like they're finally done bickering._

Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiraiya marched up to the second hokage, escorted by Sarutobi-sensei.

"Mission complete," Tobirama said absentmindedly, making a stack of papers before he started stamping the remainder of the files. He then put aside the stack, looking up to inspect the young three.

Sarutobi-sensei awaited the answers of his students, a smile dancing on his lips. He was proud of Orochimaru and Tsunade, especially Orochimaru. The child was a once in a generation talent, and Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to take it upon his own hands to train him to be one of the best shinobi. Tsunade also had a great deal of potential, and with proper control of her temper, she could be a kunoichi unmatched by any other. Jiraiya on the other hand…Sarutobi-sensei's smile faltered- was a completely different story. Hasty and careless, always chasing girls, though Hiruzen acknowledged his determination was impressive. Though determination alone wouldn't really get him anywhere. _With more intensive training, I'm sure Jiraiya will improve, _Hiruzen thought inwardly. Putting on his once again stern expression, he uttered in a commanding voice, "explain yourself to hokage-sama!"

It was an order.

Jiraiya smiled weakly, attempting to cover up his embarrassment. He lightly lifted one arm to scratch his head nervously.

"Uh…well…um…you see..uh…last night, my head hurt, so I uhm….went for a walk. I always come here to the waterfall, and..and then I saw a bucket…and it started walking towards me. It was UNREAL!" Jiraiya enuciated.

Sarutobi-sensei and Tobirama Senju looked at each other. Tobirama lifted an eyebrow.

_Yeah…really unreal… _Tsunade thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes in disdain.

_Pathetic…_ Orochimaru thought, bored and slightly annoyed.

"And…um…I lifted the bucket..and a frog attacked me..and um, I fell into the bucket!" Jiraiya concluded, voice faltering in humiliation. He shut his eyes in embarrassment, ready for a scolding.

For a second Tobirama stared dumbfounded at Jiraiya…then his blue eyes sparkled and he burst in raucous laughter.

"HAHAHAAAHAAA!"

Sarutobi-sensei, Orochimaru and Tsunade all stared at Nidaime, dumbfounded themselves. Then Sarutobi joined in, and before long, everyone was laughing, all except Orochimaru.

Orochimaru looked from Nidaime to Jiraiya, then to Sarutobi and finally to Tsunade, wondering what they found precisely so funny. He _did _notice though, how attractive Tsunade looked when she was laughing, her face lit up. Her feminine voice rang in his eyes. Unfortunately, he was interrupted from his little venue.

"Let's all take a break!" Sarutobi-sensei announced. "However, we will meet up at our usual training spot at 7 PM, and we will all eat out at Ichiraku's ramen."

"YAHOO!" Jiraiya cheered, throwing up his arms in glee. Truthfully, Jiraiya was slightly surprised he was let off the hook so easily.

"Yes!" Tsunade squealed, joining in.

Orochimaru said nothing, merely blinked.

"Tsunade, why don't you be my date?" Jiraiya asked, blushing a little with excitement.

A vein bulged in Tsunade's forehead.

Why does he always have to ask me that? Especially in front of Orochimaru! The hokage is right there, and Sarutobi-sensei too!

"Jiraiya…you little…" Tsunade seethed.

"I take that as a yes? Jiraiya asked tentatively.

"HELL NO!" Tsunade snarled. And with all her might, she punched Jiraiya right through the hokage's window.

She was aware of both Sarutobi-sensei and Tobirama's annoyed eyes on her.

"Oops..sorry…" she said.

Sarutobi and Nidaime sweatdropped.

**COMING UP NEXT:**

The legendary three go to eat ramen, what kind of havoc will Jiraiya wreak?


	2. Dinner at Ichiraku's

**_Note_**: I wrote the first chapter about a year ago, and left the story forgotten until now, when I (yet again) yearned to pour down my Sannin musings into this fanfic of mine. Only recently did I realize from the episode "Danzo Shimura," that Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage when he was considerably younger, meaning at the time Saru-sensei trained Orochi, Tsu, and Jiraiya, he had already been Hokage for a while. Hope nobody minds this annoying deviation in plot. ^^' To make up for it, I'll attempt to detail Tobirama's death, as well as how he got defeated by Kinkaku. (Though not until later chapters, of course :P)

Please review! :)

* * *

**~Dinner at Ichiraku's!~**

* * *

Yawn.

Tsunade was awakened by the sound of chirping outside her window.

Normally she would've been annoyed, but today she felt cheerful, as if nothing could faze her.

She stood up, wincing slightly as the pain in her muscles intensified. She then stretched, first placing her hands on her sides and leaned as far back as she could go, getting rid of the crick in her neck. Next, she put her palms face-first in front of her, reaching every sore point in her arms. Tsunade dropped her arm, sighing a little in relief of muscle tension.

Studying her tousled appearance, she smiled at her reflection, and then ran a hand through her unruly blond hair, which was puffy and slightly matted. She got up out of bed, and opened her window, letting in a stream of bright sunshine.

Tsunade gazed outside cheerfully, illuminated by the glow, and peered out. She looked at the stump in which Jiraiya was bound to yesterday, and laughed, thinking how tiny it looked.

"Ha, Jiraiya, would've looked like an ant next to that," she said cheerfully to herself before whistling the trademark Konoha tune to herself.

She stepped outside to retrieve her usual short blue yukata and examined the fabric, satisfied with the way it dried in the gentle summer sun. She felt the sunlight at her back as she unclipped the yukata and folded it one of the stools, smoothing all the creases with her palm.

"There… perfect!" she exclaimed softly, and held up her clothing, admiring the way the hem of her skirt blew in the breeze.

After she was dressed in her usual attire, garbed in uncomfortable chain-mail, (a necessity, she'd already seen Jiraiya relentlessly yelled at for lack of proper uniform by Sarutobi-sensei, who was so uptight Tsunade didn't believe she'd be let off the hook. After these particular incidents, Tsunade chastised Jiraiya as well, giving him her most smug smile and sticking out her tongue in a way she knew would burst his bubble, which gave her immense satisfaction, though she secretly agreed with him,) slim indigo obi tightly wrapped and tied into a quick, practiced bow at the back of her attire, protective bandages and shoes in place, crimson arm bands tightening as she posed in the mirror.

Sarutobi-sensei insisted she wore them, they were supposedly beneficial, and would transmit chakra into her hands with more force. The armbands were also a preventative measure, for Tsunade had not yet mastered full chakra control. (In theory, her armbands were not dissimilar to the unborn Rock Lee's leg weights, in how they would improve both speed and muscular power due to extra weight and tension.)

All set.

Tsunade was ready to go, but first she had to eat!

"Ohayo gozaimase, baa-chan!" she greeted her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, who was stroking a neko by the fireplace.

"My, Tsunade-chan, aren't you cheerful today!"

"Well…I sure am!" Tsunade replied, giggling.

"I must be getting old. It's unusual for you to be up this early! Since you're up, you might as well eat. Have some udon."

"Thanks Mito obaa-chan!" Tsunade said after she'd ravenously wolfed down the udon. She glanced around, wondering why the household appeared empty, apart from herself and her grandmother.

"Where's mom?"

"She went brought Nawaki for a morning walk," Mito replied. "You should get more rest, Tsunade-chan. Today is one of your rare days off, after all."

Tsunade smiled. Her five-year old brother must be disgruntled at having to wake up so early.

"Don't worry about me, obaa-chan. I have someplace I have to go today." Wiping her face with the back of her hand, Tsunade headed out the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" grandma called.

"Obaa-chan, don't worry!" Tsunade quickly ran back to grasp her grandmother's hands. "I'm going training... and…I might be a little late. Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and I are going to eat at the ramen place to celebrate."

"Yes, yes, I know, Tobirama told me," grandma Mito chuckled. "Stay out of trouble with Jiraiya!"

Although it was early in the morning, and her joints were tired, even though her mind was alert, Tsunade was ready to start training. First, she would test how far she could run. There was a bridge in front of her, which was of adequate distance. Tsunade had covered moderate distances now, and this would be a great achievement if she could jump right across the bridge. Suddenly she felt determined. Orochimaru had managed it, there was no reason why she couldn't. Tsunade ran as fast as she could, sweat building up her joints as she accumulated chakra in her legs. Due to her strength training, Tsunade could summon two different types of chakra, one blue, and one green. Green was for healing, and blue she could use two different ways; for strength, or for agility. She felt smug about this fact; Orochimaru and Jiraiya could only blue chakra. She gathered cool chakra in her legs and in one bounding leap, jumped….and stumbled over a small rock, which went flying like she did.

"Oww…" Tsunade sat up stiffly, her forehead creased in pain, and cursed to herself. She had a bruise in her leg and a small gash in her yukata. Tsunade looked in disbelief when she saw the gash. Tsunade punched the rock, but cried in pain instead, as momentarily she wasn't focusing on the summoning of chakra. "And this was a new yukata too!" she groaned to herself.

"Don't you wear the same thing everyday, Tsunade-hime?" an irritating snooty voice asked, pointy lips curling into a sneer.

Tsunade didn't even have to turn around to tell it was Koharu Utatane, a former teammate of Sarutobi-sensei. She was no fan of Koharu, who was in her thirties and seemed to dislike Tsunade for some apparent reason. She had a particular penchant for pointing out tsunade's apparent clutziness.

Tsunade crossed her arms and scowled. "May I ask what you are doing here, Koharu-sama?"

"I could ask the same thing of you," Koharu balanced a hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly. Tsunade wondered if the buns on her head would fall off had she moved her head even more.

"I was…training," Tsunade mumbled inadvertently, unable to think of a better reply.

"Training…how? Last time I checked, tripping on your face wasn't exactly a training method…do I recall?" Koharu wrinkled her brow. She didn't like the way Tsunade was speaking to her.

"No!" now it was Tsunade's turn to put her arms on her hips in an aggravating gesture. She tried to stand up, but she accidentally cut her hand on a sharp rock and fell flat on her butt again.

"Hmph," Koharu replied, studying Tsunade's bruises and cuts. "Well, you must be more careful, Tsunade-_hime_" she walked away slowly, the resounding click of her shoes irking Tsunade more than they should have.

Tsunade could barely walk as she stumbled through the forest. She had one hand on her shoulder and was limping slightly. There was no doubt she had twisted her ankle. Finally, when she was sitting on a hill overlooking the waterfall did she stop. Tsunade recalled the peculiar incident the day previously when Orochimaru caught her into his arms, saving her from drowning or death from getting cut on large, jagged rocks. She imagined herself, bloodied and pale, on the rocks, and shuddered. Orochimaru must have hoped to avoid that particular instance as well. Either way, she felt a twinge of gratitude for him. He was usually so emotionless, which was better than being annoying like Jiraiya, but still… but the first thing she saw when she awoke were his strange eyes, conflicted with an unknown emotion, and blushed when she remembered how warm he was, which was strange, considering she'd expected him to be cold since his skin was so pale.

She shook her head and chastised herself for being so ridiculous. Anyone else, perhaps except enemy nin, would've saved her if they were in Orochimaru's place. Orochimaru had rescued her in many previous instances, so why was she so surprised?

"Okay, let's get a look at this knee," Tsunade said to herself, bending her left leg so she could closely examine the swelling in this area. She glanced around the clearing, examining the colour of the sky and registering the fact that the sunlight was becoming stronger. It must be around noon, she thought, as the sunlight usually got stronger at noon this time of year.

Tsunade closed her eyes, taking in the sound of birds chirping and the slight breeze in the air. She held out her hands, as if catching rain, before spreading her palms to form a cupping motion. She then simply concentrated, letting the energy rise from within to form a pulsating green sphere of light. Opening her eyes, she grinned to herself. Success! Her chance of being successful at the healing jutsu had become exponentially greater, now that she had more solid mastery of chakra. Tsunade lowered her arms so her knee was encased in the chakra. She persisted harder now; sweat dripping down her forehead as she aimed the pulsating globe of chakra lower until it hit her ankle spot on.

Tsunade scrunched her eyebrows at the pain. It felt like her ankle had come alive, she could feel the flesh move in her leg as it returned her ankle to normal size. When the pain subsided, she slowly alleviated the focus in her hands and sighed in relief. Just for good measure, Tsunade pinched herself in the ankle. When she determined that she was indeed fine, she stood up, brushing dirt off the back of her yukata.

She was about to practice her taijutsu when her stomach suddenly growled.

Tsunade scowled, she hadn't eaten breakfast and she wasn't about to eat lunch. Why do I have to get hungry now, of all times? I didn't even get the chance to practice my taijutsu yet! She thought.

Tsunade sighed, then headed home, down from the hill until she passed the bench overlooking inner Konoha. She smiled, thinking of the times grandma Mito had told her stories as a child while Tsunade rested her head in Mito's lap, listening with evident fascination before falling into peaceful slumber. She remembered the story her grandmother told her about another princess Tsunade, the snake lord, and the frog lord. It was a tragic and heartbreaking story, but Tsunade couldn't remember the names of the two men…for some reason, that story always had rung a bell to her, though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly about it that seemed familiar. When she had asked her grandmother, she had artlessly chuckled, affirming that she'd realize in a lurch.

She continued her walk through the Konoha marketplace.

"Konichiwa, Tsunade-chan!" greeted a young girl.

"Himeko-chan!" Tsunade exclaimed, kneeling down so she was face to face with the little girl. She liked the young Hyuuga, who was guaranteed to grow up to become a beauty. Everybody else had treated her so formally, all because she was the granddaughter of the first hokage.

Tsunade didn't see how her grandfather's legendary skills measured to her own unique tact as a kunoichi, not that she minded in the slightest.

The young girl's shining lilac eyes stared back at her. "Tsunade-chan," why are you heading from that direction?" she pointed in the direction Tsunade came from with a stubby finger.

"I was taking a walk!" Tsunade replied, serene. "Just perfecting my jutsus!" Tsunade flexed her arm to enunciate her point.

Himeko gazed at Tsunade in wonder before giggling. Then her face turned serious. "Um, Tsunade-chan…I want to become a good ninja too."

Tsunade visibly brightened. "That's great!"

Himeko's eyes widened, but then she looked glum. "The boys in my class all say girls can't be ninjas."

Tsunade's eyes widened as well, but in outrage. "Well, I'm a ninja, and I'm a girl. That makes me a kunoichi, which is the very definition of badass. Don't listen to those boys, Himeko-chan. They're all bakas! Become a great kunoichi one day, okay?"

Young Himeko's bottom lip quivered slightly, and her eyes began brimming with tears. Then she jumped into Tsunade's arms.

At first Tsunade was taken aback by her reaction, but then a warmth welled up in her, the same feeling she got when Nawaki hugged her. Tsunade hugged her back, smiling all the while.

"Bye Tsunade-chan!" Himeko Hyuuga laughed cheerfully before running off to jump into the arms of her approaching father, who was startled.

"Good afternoon, Senju-hime," he greeted and bowed at her.

"Good afternoon to you too, Hyuuga-sama." She bowed at the older Hyuuga, then promptly walked off before giving a reassuring smile to the younger.

-X-

It was 6:30. Tsunade had changed into another yukata, which was identical to her previous one. She had also found the time to smooth the frizzies away from her hair. A slightly nauseous sensation arose in her stomach as she walked towards their usual training premises.

Tsunade suddenly felt compelled with curiosity to go look for Orochimaru. It wasn't like she rarely saw him. Rather, it was the opposite.

Before that, she saw him on a near daily basis, regarded him as teammate, and that was all.

However, things felt a little different now.

She didn't quite understand it herself, but she felt an inexplicable urge to see him.

To affirm that she knew him as well as she thought.

She had originally decided to leave the house in another fifteen minutes, but she decided to head out now. Since she had time, she might as well practice her taijutsu.

She ran to the usual training spot, before something caught her eye, stopping her in her tracks. It was Orochimaru.

-X-

Orochimaru always came to this particular spot when practicing jutsu. Although it was team Sarutobi's meeting place, this area was ideal for practicing a great number of techniques involving kunai and shuriken. He liked to watch the sunset from the spot, the sun sinking slowly into the sky, becoming illuminated by a burst of bright red.

Like blood.

He would never forget that day. The memories of that bloody night, forever preserved in the close of each day.

Dusk.

From the break of dawn to the darkest depths of the night, a chilly breeze swept through the air, enticing every blade of grass to move in its direction.

The wind was cutting, yes… cold indeed. But Orochimaru didn't feel the cold. In fact, he wasn't even aware of the goosebumps forming on his arms until he'd gone numb with the cold, until the rough coaxing of Mother Nature had temporarily rendered his limbs immobile.

There was a sudden shuffling in the bushes situated three metres behind him.

The disturbance didn't go unnoticed by Orochimaru. Quick as a flash, he whirled around, sending three kunai flying in the direction of whomever that caused the distraction. All three seemed to have missed, and Orochimaru was about to charge ahead, when a panicked Tsunade ran out of the bushes, accompanied with both a scared and very annoyed expression on her face.

"Oh, it's you, Tsunade." Orochimaru's face went from angry to expressionless in an instant.

"Sheesh, Orochimaru, you gave me quite a fright!" Tsunade was livid.

"It could have been an intruder."

"Yeah, who in their right mind would come spy on you? Besides Jiraiya," Tsunade corrected herself, sighing.

Orochimaru didn't bother replying.

Intriqued, Tsunade studied his face. He seemed to be a little distracted, or upset. She found that strangely endearing. Without a word, Tsunade went and sat next to him.

He didn't look at her, but she sensed he knew she was there. They sat like that through short passage of time, Tsunade holding her knees up with her arms and Orochimaru with one leg flat on the ground, other knee propped, simply enjoying the feeling of not being alone.

Isolated.

"Tsunade.." her teammate's voice was tentative.

"Hm?" surprised, Tsunade turned to look at him. His jet-black hair gently tumbled in the wind, the sunset setting aglow Orochimaru's pale countenance.

She was dazzled.

"Do you ever think about the past?"

It was a simple question, one directed at her out from nowhere.

She didn't know how to respond to that. "Every once and then," she finally replied. "I don't remember much, but there are those tidbits I remember, even as a baby."

Tsunade examined her nails, hoping to collect her thoughts.

She suddenly wished she knew jutsu of the Yamanaka clan. Orochimaru couldn't read her thoughts, but she couldn't read his either, even if she wanted to.

Still, she was curious. She turned to peek at him.

Orochimaru was looking at her, amber eyes lit up by the glow of the setting sun. A breeze picked up, sending loose leaves around them along with loose strands of onyx silk afloat.

The moment was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity, a strange world in which only him and her were present.

Unsettled.

That was how Orochimaru made her feel.

She tore away from his unreadable stare at last, staring at her dirty finger nails for a lack of something better to do.

Orochimaru, too, was silent. He remained as he was, passive, as if deep in thought. He was always like that. Quiet, circumspective.

Tsunade dug her nails into the grass. She could no longer take the silence, and turned towards her slit-pupiled teammate.

"Orochimaru-kun, doesn't the sky look a little too dark to you? We were supposed to meet here at around 7 pm, but according to my superior time-detecting skills, they're ten minutes too late!" Tsunade forced a laugh, hoping her lighter tone would break the tension.

"Hm, you're right," Orochimaru glanced around the clearing.

He seemed to want to rid the air of awkwardness as well.

"I wonder what that baka Jiraiya is up to!" Tsunade folded her arms across her chest in mock dismay.

"That idiot's stirring up trouble, causing dissent as usual, I presume." Orochimaru rolled his eyes.

Tsunade giggled, more at Orochimaru's gesture than the thought of Jiraiya managing to land himself in a bucket a day previously.

"I doubt it can get any worse than yesterday. To think he fell into a bucket!"

"Hn, some ninja he is. Balance is one of important focuses of control chakra. it is of utmost shame to become stuck in anything, let alone a bucket. That idiot could've gotten himself out if he tried. What a mission!" Orochimaru made a face, his brow twitching.

It took all of Tsunade's energy not to burst laughing. She always knew Orochimaru had an eloquent, albeit slightly eccentric way of wording things, and with his perpetual emotionless face, it was…amusing.

"Typical of Jiraiya!"

"Sure thing."

"Speaking of which, maybe Jiraiya went perving on girls again and Sarutobi sensei caught him. But knowing what a perv Sarutobi-sensei is, they probably went perving together," Tsunade laughed.

There was the tiniest smile on Orochimaru's lips. "Hmm. Perhaps. Knowing Jiraiya, that is very likely."

"What's likely?" standing in front of them stood a red-faced Sarutobi-sensei and an equally aggravated Jiraiya beside the elder.

"Uhm…nothing," Tsunade replied, surprised. Finally, they were here.

"You're late." Orochimaru said simply.

"Uhm….err…we just went to go see…d-dango!" Jiraiya averted his gaze from Sarutobi-sensei.

"Uh, yeah, really good dango, ahahaha!" Sarutobi-sensei added, laughing nervously.

Both he and Jiraiya scratched their heads. Tsunade was all too familiar with that gesture, and she bet Orochimaru was too.

Orochimaru and Tsunade looked pointedly at each other.

Tsunade burst out laughing, falling over in all her fervour. When she finally got up, Tsunade clutched her chest, panting. Then she pointed at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, you baka, you went perving again, didn't you? You too, Sarutobi-sensei!"

Jiraiya and Sarutobi-sensei backed away from each other and turned bright red, flustered.

"No really!"

"We went eating dango"

"Yeah with so many hotti-"

Sarutobi-sensei stopped just in the knick of time to clap his hand over Jiraiya's mouth, eyes positively shooting daggers at the toad sannin.

"Ha, you got caught." Tsunade gave them her sneakiest smile.

"Just admit it already," Orochimaru smirked, amused.

"Ahem," Sarutobi-sensei coughed. "Shall we go?"

Everybody nodded.

Tsunade got up, smoothing her hands over the skirt of her yukata. She hoped her skirt wasn't stained with grass juice. While she thought she was looking, she glanced over at Orochimaru's butt. Phew, she thought. If he was wearing white and was fine, then her yukata would look just as new.

"What are you doing?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at her.

Ack! "Nothing, nothing!" Tsunade raised her hands in protest, clearly terrified.

Jiraiya had witnessed the whole thing and was feeling sneaky. "Hey, sensei, Tsunade-chan was just checking out Orochimaru's behind."

Sarutobi-sensei's eyebrows twitched.

Konoha marketplace was filled with people tonight. Jiraiya was bored as hell, standing in the line-up in the ramen shop. Him, sensei, Orochimaru, and Tsunade had been standing in line for fifteen minutes already, and the line-up hadn't subsided. Sarutobi-sensei did not look very patient either, eyebrows twitching in exasperation. Sweatdrops ran down their temples, it was a rather hot evening, and the amount of mosquitoes were exhausting to swat. Jiraiya wondered with the money he was making, why couldn't the ramen guy find a bigger place in Konoha to seat customers? But then again, the place didn't have that many customers lately. Only when their special weightloss ramen was in check were there a line of customers even grander than this one.

On a whim, Jiraiya had once persuaded Sarutobi-sensei to buy him a bowl of it. Unfortunately, they reaped just as much as they sowed. The ramen came with side effects; it did help the person eating it in particular lose weight, but...through rather...unconventional methods. Jiraiya and sensei doubled over, vomiting for long durations. During that day, every woman in Konoha ended up puking all over the streets, and because so many people ended up tripping in the vomit, the second hokage had to issue an emergency call. Konoha black ops ended up cleaning the mess and the ramen shop was closed for a week, but out of pure goodness was the store was allowed to remain open.

Tsunade swatted at several mosquitoes, sending them in a disarray. Annoyed, they crowded around her face. That really got her going. She swatted, hard, chopping mosquitoes in half. Orochimaru turned to see what the fuss was about, then turned back, a slightly bemused look on his face.

"Geez, you're such a spaz, Tsunade," Jiraiya crossed his arms, tapping one foot on the dusty ground.

"Grr..you're one to talk!" a vein bulged in Tsunade's forehead.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah WHAT? That you're a baka?"

Now a vein popped in Jiraiya's forehead.

"Oh really? You flat chested golden retriever!"

"What, mad 'cuz you couldn't get yourself out of a freakin bucket?"

"What, you wanna fight?"

"BRING IT ON!"

Now some people had gathered around Tsunade and Jiraiya, all anxious to see a fight spring into action.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked around nervously.

"Knock it off guys, we're in the middle of a line-up!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade were still into each other's faces. Things were starting to get intense when Sarutobi sensei would his arms and put Jiraiya in a headlock.

"Orochimaru! Get Tsunade" Sarutobi-sensei ordered.

Tsunade froze, as she felt Orochimaru's warmth at her back. It was like all the energy had suddenly drained out of her. She felt strange, numb, and dizzy. Everything shifted out of focus, and Tsunade could not discern whose heartbeat she was hearing.

Jiraiya's eyes suddenly widened. Tsunade flushed; she could practically see the questions in Jiraiya's eyes. For a moment, they locked gazes, contemptuous. Only Sarutobi-sensei didn't seem to have noticed the sudden change of atmosphere.

The lucrative line had, at last, receded, and now the sannin were near the front of the lineup.

"Ah, Sarutobi-sensei! You're with your students, I see! What would you like to order?" the ramen guy, Teuchi Sr. asked cheerfully. Despite being busy, business was booming for him, and thus he was ecstatic, though busy.

"Large udon ramen!" Jiraiya enthusiastically pushed in front of the irked Sarutobi-sensei.

"Very well!"

"I'd like a tonketsu ramen, Teuchi-san," Tsunade asked, cheerfully.

"Why yes, certainly, Tsunade-hime," Teuchi smiled cheerily at her. At this Tsunade scowled on the inside, thought she tried not to show it.

Only Orochimaru lingered behind, but he stepped forward, looking at the menu.

"I'd like plain ramen with two hard-boiled eggs," he asked simply.

Teuchi made a face, but nonetheless replied with a, "very well."

Tsunade noticed the ramen guy was staring intensely at Orochimaru-kun. He had a slightly curious, apprehensive expression on his face. Teuchi stared acutely at Orochimaru, who returned the favour, before quickly turning his attention back to Hiruzen.

"Ah, Saru, what would you like to order?"

"I'd like tonketsu ramen as well," Sarutobi-sensei replied, mimicking Jiraiya.

"Hey, that's not fair! Sensei, stop copying me!"

"Hey, treat your sensei with a little more respect, will ya?" Teuchi snapped, hitting Jiraiya with a stirring spoon.

Tsunade giggled, but she noticed Teuchi's slight animosity of Orochimaru was not unnoticed by Hiruzen-sensei.

Jiraiya's interest was peaked, however. "Teuchi-san, you know Sarutobi-sensei?" he questioned.

"Ah, yes, Hiruzen has been frequenting ramen here for years!"

Sarutobi-sensei chuckled with a nod, patting the grumpy Jiraiya's hair slightly.

"Anything else?"

"That's all."

"Alright, coming right up!" Teuchi grinned. "Take a seat!" and with that, he went to the inner kitchen to make the ramen.

"Excuse me, I have to go to the washroom, I'll be right back," Hiruzen said. "Keep yourselves out of trouble!" he waggled a finger, particularly at Jiraiya.

"Heeyyy, why is always me?" Jiraiya scowled.

"Why do you think, baka?"

Tsunade absentmindedly watched as Ayame senior and the rest of the ramen workers lined up bowls of ramen. Teuchi was busy entertaining customers, but she noticed him glance over at Orochimaru, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru. He seemed not to notice.

"Hey, Tsunade, doesn't that Teuchi guy's head look like a hardboiled egg?" Jiraiya whispered in Tsunade's ear. Unfortunately, the whisper was just a little on the loud side.

"You baka! He can hear.."

"What was that?" Jiraiya and Tsunade turned their heads in slow motion, and it was not pretty.

"Ahaha, it's nothing!" Tsunade said quickly, laughing nervously.

"Oh, yeah, I was wondering if there was a fly's leg in my ramen, ahaha-ha-h-ha…" Jiraiya's voice trailed off.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" quick as a flying kunai, Teuchi's steaming stirring spoon flew towards Jiraiya's head.

"AHHHH," Jiraiya braced for impact, as did Tsunade.

"YOU BAKAAAAAAA-" she screeched.

Nothing happened.

Jiraiya opened his eyes, and then gasped. Orochimaru's hand was clasped on the spoon handle.

"I believe this is yours," he said smoothly, handing over the spoon to Teuchi.

Tenzo looked surprised, then anger sunk in, and a vein popped in his hairless forehead.

Orochimaru didn't so much as even flinch. Instead, he stared back at Teuchi intensely, their gazes prickling so much you could practically see lightning shooting from their eyes.

"Orochimaru! Be more respectful." Tsunade pulled him back, though it was a struggle.

Teuchi narrowed his eyes.

"Aren't you that orphan I've heard so many rumours about?" the question was directed at Orochimaru.

"I am precisely." Orochimaru replied calmly, pulling out of Tsunade's grasp. Jiraiya almost felt sorry for his rival at this point, both he and Tsunade had heard about the brutal murders of Orochimaru's parents. To make it all the worse, he witnessed it happening.

"Hm…" Teuchi didn't say anything, perhaps because Orochimaru was Hiruzen-Sarutobi's student, a man he respected.

Jiraiya was furious. "Why're you singling him out just 'cause he's an orphan. What's wrong with that, huh, HUH?" he spat.

Tsunade was infuriated too, and not about to become overshadowed by the fervent Jiraiya.

"Yeah, you leave him alone! Orochimaru hasn't done anything wrong, you make it sound like he's the one who murdered his parents!"

Shock rippled through Orochimaru.

"Are you suspecting him? That's my question."

"Tsunade!"

"Tsunade, that's enough." This time, Orochimaru spoke up.

"Huh?" surprise clearly present in her features, Tsunade turned to look at Orochimaru. His head was bowed.

He watched his parents die. Watched, as he sat down, too afraid to do anything.

He'd let them die.

"I…shouldn't have let them die."

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya gasped at this. The line-up had receded, making following silence more eerie. One young boy began to wail loudly.

"What in the world is going on?"

Tsunade felt relieved, and she heaved out a sigh.

"Sarutobi-sensei! What took you so long?" Jiraiya immediately called.

"Oh, well, I had some problems with my bladder," Sarutobi-sensei laughed, scratching his head.

"Ugh, TMI?" Tsunade sweatdropped, as did Jiraiya.

"I thought I heard some scuffling going on while I was in there," Sarutobi-sensei inquired wryly.

"Nothing of the sort is going on," Teuchi replied, his lips pinched in a tight smile.

"Oh, is that so?" Saru-sensei raised one eyebrow, shifting his bemused gaze towards Jiraiya.

"Just as he said!" Jiraiya replied.

_Great. So much for blatant obviousness_, inner Tsunade thought.

Teuchi brought out their steaming bowls one by one.

"Dig in!" he said with forced cheerfulness.

Jiraiya immediately began stuffing his mouth, and after a moment, both Tsunade and Sarutobi-sensei shrugged, tentatively picking up their chopsticks and eating the noodles.

"Mm, this is good," Tsunade said.

"Mhm!"

SLURPPPP.."ahh. Sensei, another bowl, please!"

"Urgh," Sensei replied.

"Try to eat slower, will ya, Jiraiya?" Tsunade punched him on his head as gently as she could, receiving a disgruntled, "hey," from Jiraiya. Nonetheless, he still blushed.

-Ten minutes later-

SLURRRRP. Jiraiya had already finished his tenth bowl.

"That's it, Jiraiya!" Sarutobi-sensei roared. No doubt he'd be emptying his wallet tonight. Thank goodness Tsunade and Orochimaru had the dignity to actually hold back on the eating, he thought.

Suddenly Teuchi Sr. leaned over and whispered something in Sarutobi-sensei's ear. All didn't notice except Tsunade. Or so she thought, when she saw Orochimaru's equally wary glance.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade..Orochimaru," Sarutobi-sensei faltered pointedly when Orochimaru looked in his direction. "Can you please go outside for a moment?"

"Why?" Jiraiya was inquiring.

Tsunade was suspicious too, though she kept silent.

Orochimaru had a uneasy feeling that he knew what this was all about.

"Mind your own business, Jiraiya!" Jiraiya sprang back in mild surprise at Sarutobi-sensei's unsettled expression. It was not uncommon for him to be cranky, but it was uncommon for him to be this cranky.

Grudgingly, the young sannin headed outside, where they attempted to listen in on snippets of Teuchi and Sarutobi-sensei's conversation.

No matter how hard Jiraiya listened, their whispers were pretty much indiscernible, seeing as they talked mostly in whispers and mutters.

One time, Jiraiya stuck his head inside, only to be rebuked.

"JIRAIYAAA!" Saru-sensei roared.

He gulped, and reluctantly sauntered back outside, where Tsunade and Orochimaru were shooting him death looks.

"We seriously need a jutsu that can magnify hearing," Tsunade suggested in a frustrated whisper.

"True," Orochimaru's reply was brief.

Their whispering came to a standstill when Sarutobi-sensei snapped.

"…..is absolutely NOT TRUE!" it sounded like a retort.

It seemed they were arguing.

"Hiruzen, you know I respect you, I always have, but don't you think you're being too lenient on this subject?" Teuchi replied in an equally fervent voice.

"What does lenient mean?" Jiraiya asked.

"SHHHHH!" Tsunade and Orochimaru both shushed him.

"How could you be so reckless?" they heard Teuchi continue to persuade. "You know…" Tenzo lowered his voice, so the young sannin couldn't hear, regardless of how they strained their ears to listen.

From the looks of it, Hiruzen seemed to be raised aware of a subject he hadn't thought much about.

"…and how would that change anything? A prodigy is still a prodigy!" Hiruzen again had raised his voice in anger.

"SHH, calm down, Hiruzen-sama, do you want someone to listen in our conversation?"

Tsunade was thinking hard. How many prodigies were there in Konoha? There were the usual exemplar Uchiha and Senju (like herself, she thought proudly), and then there was…Orochimaru?

But then again, she was the youngest master of medical ninjutsu in all Konoha.

"You of all people should know that….not..greatest place to converse,"

"Yes, but…" Tsunade didn't catch the rest of the sentence.

"He does not concern you!" that was Sarutobi-sensei. The young three were listening closely now.

"Oh yes he does! ….will turn out!"

"You're just making an assumption, Sarutobi-sensei replied, but he didn't sound so sure anymore.

"Do you remember how….turned out? He is of the same kind! I've seen it myself!"

"Don't even start on that!" he growled, "Orochimaru will turn out to be a great ninja! I will see to that myself!"

Orochimaru and the other two froze at that.

So they _were_ talking about him all that time.

"I'm gonna go in and fight that Teuchi guy!" Jiraiya spoke between gritted teeth.

"No, you will…NOT! We have to listen!" and with that, she clamped a firm hand against Jiraiya's mouth.

"MRF!" Jiraiya struggled and punched Tsunade's hand. Tsunade still held on tightly.

"I'll let go only if you promise to be quiet," her voice became dangerously silent.

Jiraiya nodded profusely, his face turning purple from lack of oxygen. "Can't breathe-"

Tsunade let go, Jiraiya panting heavily.

"Shhhh!"

Teuchi finally seemed to give in.

"Fine, Hiruzen, I'll take your word for it…for now."

A stern silence followed.

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade! You can come in now!"

Cautiously, Jiraiya tiptoed in, before nodding to Tsunade and Orochimaru, who followed shortly.

"So, sensei, what took so long?" Jiraiya asked, feigning indifference.

_You baka!_ Inner Tsunade screeched.

"Urm…nothing important," Sarutobi-sensei replied, shifting his gaze away from the prying Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Sarutobi-sensei paid for their ramen, making polite goodbyes with Teuchi. Tsunade noticed there was an air of forced friendliness. Their tension from the earlier argument had certainly not abated.

When they left the ramen shop, Jiraiya seemed to have forgotten everything, and went scampering about.

He went over to the stand selling masks. The masks looked fascinating to him.

'Hey, Tsunade-chan, over here!" he shouted, attracting more than just a few annoyed stares.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, then back at Sarutobi-sensei and Orochimaru, wondering if Orochimaru would be okay.

She obtusely stared at Orochimaru for a mere second, as unspoken thoughts flittered about them.

He nodded once, and Tsunade ran off to Jiraiya, feeling slightly relieved, but still a tad nervous.

"What?" Tsunade asked Jiraiya, a grouchy expression on her face. It was typical for Jiraiya to call her over because of rather…ridiculous reasons.

"Look at these masks! Aren't they awesome?"

"...They're just masks."

"Hey…Jiraiya's voice took a naughty tone. "We could scare sensei with them!"

"Don't be stupid!" then she faltered. "Wait…I guess…that isn't such a terrible idea." She finally responded, though she was still feeling rather dispirited.

Maybe this would help take some weight of Sarutobi-sensei's mind.

She remembered the last time Sarutobi-sensei had depression. To this day, she still didn't know what exactly was the source of his depression, but his inactivity weighed heavily on the minds of the even younger sannin. Even Jiraiya was curious to know what happened.

"Jiraiya, let's do this! Cha!" she made a fist in the air.

Jiraiya gawked at her. What the heck had changed the hime's mind so easily?

Sarutobi-sensei was growing more agitated at the moment. He didn't… no, he wouldn't believe what Teuchi had said, but in truth, his words weighed heavily on his mind.

"I've seen too many ninja like Orochimaru. Those who've witnessed events like that…there's no doubt how that boy will turn out." Teuchi had shaken his head sadly.

He was Orochimaru's sensei. True, Orochimaru had been…shaken, to put it lightly, by the death of his parents, but since coming to the team, there was a change in the boy.

A very slight change, but it was still an improvement.

He had hoped Orochimaru would grow up happily under the guidance of him and eventually learn to forget about what happened. Or at least remember the emotions he felt the memories of that night and push that into his training instead.

Orochimaru had huge potential. Hiruzen never doubted that. If he helped the young ninja embark on the right path, Orochimaru could easily become one of Konoha's finest. Who knows, the boy might even surpass him, the pupil of Tobirama Senju, one day.

However…

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Orochimaru inquired.

Startled, Hiruzen snapped out of his daze. "Nothing, nothing!" he said in a falsely cheerful tone.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, clearly perturbed, but said nothing.

"YARRRRRGGGGHHHH!" two rascals scuttered past the sensei and his dark-haired students, running so fast they were practically blurs.

"Jiraiya, I know it's you. You too, Tsunade!" Sarutobi-sensei crossed his arms.

"Damn!" Jiraiya groaned.

"ARGHH I told you it wouldn't work!" Tsunade growled. "You should've followed my strategy!"

"Hey, if mine didn't work, then yours probably wouldn't either!"

"Yeah, like you're so great?"

"I totally am. Aren't I, sensei?" Jiraiya proudly put his hands on his hips.

"Sure, after you start improving your jutsus instead of spying in the hot springs!"

"Huhhh?" Jiraiya sighed, then a dejected look appeared on his face.

Tsunade twitched. She had an idea.

"Hey, sensei, if I recall, didn't you accompany Jiraiya to peep in the hot springs?"

Sarutobi-sensei's right eye twitched.

He glanced at Jiraiya. The two doubled over, laughing, at the shock of the two less perverted sannin.

"I'm going home," Orochimaru said, clearly not amused.

"Me too!" with a smile, she waved at her raven-haired teammate, who, after a slight pause, gave her a nod in return before heading off in the opposite direction.

Jiraiya tried to follow, but Hiruzen held the struggling Jiraiya, waiting to give him a lecture.

Tsunade ran off, but not before hearing Jiraiya shout, "you owe me!"

She turned her head to stick her tongue at him.

"Bye baka!"

**-Next chapter-**

Jiraiya's first kiss!


	3. CROAKKK! Jiraiya's First Kiss!

**NOTE:** I will be using these to precede each character's POV. =) I have part of the next chapter on the other laptop, which is currently sitting all dusty in a corner of the room, waiting to be fixed. I would get it fixed, except I'm trying to retrieve the very few but still semi-valuable old art and stories still stuck in its harddrive somewhere, so I'm leaving it there until I can somehow find the time to put the stuff on the USB and get the other computer fixed. xP

I typed this chapter in about two hours. Didn't edit it, so feel free to point out any mistakes. Reviews, faves, alerts, PMs (well, pretty much everything except flames) are always, ALWAYS welcome. Hint hint. ;)

**Orochimaru**:

**Tsunade:** (=)=(=)=(=)

**Jiraiya:** |\|\|\|\|\|\

Will denote any changes following the author's note of every chapter. As always, have fun reading and please leave a review! Also, feel free to leave any suggestions.

* * *

**Chapter 3: CROAKKK! Jiraiya's first kiss!**

"Honestly, Jiraiya," Sarutobi-sensei sighed.

Jiraiya was about to reply, when everything around him began to spin. A familiar vortex spun him away, transporting him to another dimension together. He yelled in surprise and horror as he spun through the lapse. Of course, Jiraiya knew this, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was still yet in unawares.

There was no chance of steering himself. Gravity carried Jiraiya straight into a muddy pond, arms dangling uselessly at his side as a dozen or so frogs jumped away to avoid the incoming collision. The force of the splash sent on oblivious frog perched on a large lilypad straight into the air. The poor startled frog flapped all fours, looking rather pathetic, before it landed, albeit safely, on a smaller lilypad a mere few metres away. The original lilypad, however, hit Jiraiya's face full-force with a 'smack.'

Nearby, the "female" frog watched amusedly as the lilypad slid off the disgruntled Jiraiya's face, "She" croaked in raucous laughter.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was not-at-all amused, and even less so when he began spitting mouthful after mouthful of pond scum.

"Ptah," he spat, ridding his mouth of that awful taste. Rubbing his eyes, he let out a burp, startling away a few small frogs in his wake. Slowly, he opened his irritated eyes, blinking as he saw huge, shiny...lips?

"AGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jiraiya stumbled back, utterly shocked and very frightened. In his haste, he tumbled back into the pond with yet another splash.

Gasping for air, he popped out of the water headfirst, spitting out more pong scum along with a fish, which promptly jumped out of Jiraiya's gaping mouth. All the while, Jiraiya coughed, thinking he'd had enough water for a lifetime. Or ten.

"Well, well, what have we got here?" A voice cooed. "It's a young'un, I dare say."

"Who the hell are you?" Jiraiya managed to shout. It turned out more like a squeak, however.

Jiraiya was once again met by the huge, shiny pink lips.

"If I were you, I'd be more respectful to your elders," the huge lips pursed.

"Okay, okay. Who are you, though?"

The giant pink lips grew smaller and smaller until Jiraiya looked up to see a giant green frog. At first glance, the frog appeared to be female with her(?) way overdone eyeliner, mascara, blush, and awful hot pink lipstick that contrasted horribly against the frog's bright puke green skin. The giant hot pink bow only made it worse, Jiraiya shuddered. It was like looking like Professor Umbridge in Harry Potter in frog form. Then he looked closer.

"What are you looking at me for?" the frog simpered. "Are you simply marvelling at my miraculous beauty?"

"Uh, sure," Jiraiya lied. Yup, the frog was definitely male. He wrinkled his eyebrows. He had heard of and met transgendered people. (He had spied many times on beautiful 'women', only to realize upon watching them take off their clothes that they were not really women.) But whoever heard of a transgendered frog?

"Oh nevermind, dearie. I am the legendary, the majestic, the beautiful Gamariki. I am known to be the most beautiful amphibian in Mount Myoboku." the huge, awful-looking frog blinked his/her spider-like lashes.

"Mhmhmmm..." Jiraiya backed away, only to bump into something else.

"Oh hi, Gamabunta-chan," a faint blush spread over the transgendered toad's face.

Terrified, Jiraiya turned around to face a very angry-looking toad, who was only slightly larger than Gamariki. Gamabunta! Jiraiya could almost sigh in relief.

If anything, the toad looked positively horrified. The horrified expression soon became a very angry one.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gamariki?"

The transgendered frog batted his false lashes at the angry toad. "Weellll...I was looking for you, my lord."

Jiraiya muffled a puking sound as the frog puckered "her" lips.

Gamabunta didn't look any happier. "Get outta here, I got a student to train."

"What, this little twerp?" Gamariki narrowed his heavily coloured eyes.

"Yes, this little twerp." Gamabunta crossed his arms, dangling his pipe between his lips. He gestured to Jiraiya with one webbed hand.

"Hmph, thought you'd be doing better than that," Gamariki sneered. Clearly, "she" was jealous.

Gamabunta frowned, and Jiraiya wrinkled his brow angrily, indignant. "Hey, who are you to judge, you weird transvestite?" he shouted, pointing a finger at the frog.

A vein popped in Gamariki's huge neck. "Kid, if you're gonna judge, you better fight. A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do."

"Sure, except you're a man!" Jiraiya responded, equally fervent, a vein bulging in his bright red neck.

"Oh? Looks like I'm something you're not, then." Gamariki smirked, obviously getting satisfaction from Jiraiya's fury.

"I'M GONNA FIGHT YOU, AND BEAT YOU, YOU LOUSY FROG!" the rascal shouted like a maniac, giving the transgendered frog the middle finger.

The frog's huge shiny pink lips curled into a horrible looking wide smirk. "Bring it on then, kiddo." "She" flexed "her" huge bright green arms.

"Hold it." It was Gamabunta who intercepted the arguing pair, stepping between the giant frog and the human boy.

"Gamariki, since you have so rudely interrupted our training session, YOU will train Jiraiya for the day. I will be watching the whole time."

This time both Jiraiya and Gamariki were startled.

"Why do I have to teach this little pest anything, my lord?"

"It's all his fault, Master Gamabunta! I bet he won't teach me anything! Besides, he's the last person I would want as a teacher!"

"Do not call me a 'he,' boy. You are despicable."

"What the hell are you talking about, you dumb frog? And what does despicable mean, anyway?"

"ENOUGH!" Gamabunta roared.

Heads drooped, the two groaned.

* * *

(=)=(=)=(=)

If there was anything Tsunade hated (with the exception of Jiraiya), it was hot, sunny days with absolutely nothing to do. Break days were rare now, as neo Team Seven were constantly busy with their training. These days, however, it seemed even Sarutobi-sensei was suffering the effects of the stifling heat. Soon summer would be coming to a close. Even as each day grew blisteringly hot- each day, everyday, the next day worse- the inhabitants of Konohagakure all know that the heat would suffice, and the continuous rays of sun would soon cease to a certain extent. At the same time Tsunade felt glad that she would no longer have to suffer another heatstroke for another eight months, she felt a little sad summer was ending. She liked fall well enough- the leaves were exquisite, bright pinnacles of fiery colour in a bleak, bleak sky. Spring she didn't mind either- she loved the new bloom of the flowers, the growth that changed the barren land into a renewed lush land, full of life and vegetation, sights and sound. Really, it was winter she detested- those long, grueling days of training in the oh-so-cold snow, her flaxen hair blowing in the wind and her cheeks red and numb from the chill wind. Closing her eyes, she could picture her teammates. Jiraiya would show how he felt- his teeth would be chattering, and he would yap incessantly about the weather. Orochimaru, on the other hand, was numb, untouchable. With his skin as white as the snow itself, he was cold, perfectly cold.

She suppressed a shudder despite the fact that it was 35 degrees celsius outside and sweat was quickly dampening the entirety of her short azure kimono.

Where was Jiraiya anyways? With a start, Tsunade realized she felt lonely without him.

She could hear the rustling of leaves in the breeze. Gentle breezy water lapped in soft waves at her feet. Sighing in sweet relief at the release from the summer heat, Tsunade slowly removed her garments and allowed herself to sink into the cool pond.

* * *

|\|\|\|\|\|\

"Are you CRAZY? There's NO WAY I'm gonna jump from up here!"

Jiraiya and Gamariki was standing one of the highest canyons in Mount Myoboku.

"Prove that you're a man. Heh, this is nothing."

The first task for Jiraiya was to hop from mountain to hilltop to crevasse in the land of Myoboku. Right now, the task seemed like an impossibility as he stared, stomach churning, at the huge expanse of land below him. Although to land safely was to only generate enough chakra to his feet, Jiraiya secretly thought he would lose focus. Leave it to Tsunade, the flat-chested blonde chakra know-it-all.

"Go on," Gamariki urged.

Gamabunta simply watched silently, without even a single word. In actuality, he was interested to know what the boy would choose. Would be master the transfer of chakra to the soles of his feet and jump, or would he chicken out? Gamabunta didn't have a chance to wonder, however. Gamariki was quickly losing patience and shoved the oblivious Jiraiya off the tip of the canyon.

Gamabunta's eyes grew wide as he thought for sure the boy would plunge to his death, when he opened his eyes to see Jiraiya holding on to one of Gamariki's legs with all the energy he could muster.

Gamariki rolled his eyes. "Listen twerp, the trick is to transfer chak- WHOAAAA!" the fragile, soft rock under the frog's feet had finally collapsed after many years, sending both the frog and the boy hurtling down the abyss. Boy and frog held each other for dear life. The force of the air pressure smushed boy and frog's faces together until their lips met with a horrible "squish."

BOOOOOOOMMMM! Their fall shook the entire floor of Myoboku, triggering an avalanche of rocks and debris. Gamabunta shielded his eyes from the dust. Soon enough, Jiraiya and Gamariki emerged, coughing, from the under the chaos, both making choking sounds.

Gamabunta shook his head, rolling his eyes. "That's enough for today," he told them both.

"But Gamabunta-sensei-"

"Not another word." the giant toad paused. "Your training will commence in exactly 24 hours from now."

For the first time of the day, a large grin crossed Jiraiya's face. He gestured happily.

"Haii, sensei!"


	4. Oiroke no Orochimaru PART I

**NOTE**: They are twelve years old here. Just in case anyone was wondering, they are nine in the first and second chapter and twelve in the third chapter. I'm planning to go right into writing their missions and awesome fighting, especially Tsunade's strength training. Still deciding whether or not I should write how they learned Kuchiyose no jutsu and scenes such as the bells scene because I want to get started with how the sannin fell apart as a team. What do you think? Please PM me with what you prefer me to write. Perhaps I should write canon scenes into flashbacks? Feedback? You tell me.

PS. Yes, Tsunade is so awesome I made her sense chakra better than Karin. :P

**Oiroke no Orochimaru PART I**

**(=)=(=)=(=)**

The sweltering summer heat of Konoha swept through the large grassy expanse. At this time of year, insects were to be found aplenty (but the same could not be said of water), and the fact that there was always heavy work to be done did not help that fact.

"Water...I need water..." Jiraiya moaned. The nearest fresh water was located at Mizutakenega, the waterfall he had fallen in four entire seasons ago. The problem was the waterfall was an entire fifteen minutes away even if Jiraiya were to run from treetop to treetop. The combined force of the consuming heat, Jiraiya's sore, stiff muscles, and the dehydration dawning on him meant he would undoubtly acquire a heatstroke. Getting yet another heatstroke was definitely NOT in the list of things he wanted to do, which including perving, asking Tsunade out (for the hundreth time) and...more perving.

At that moment, Tsunade was (once again) impatiently waiting for Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya, and surprisingly, Orochimaru. Normally, Orochimaru was never late as he was always particular about being on time. The boy was so competent, it was almost freakish. In the beginning, Sarutobi-sensei had been strict about time regulation to the point where he was always tying Jiraiya and occasionally an outraged Tsunade to one of the three logs (usually the middle, in which Tsunade and Jiraiya would be tied together and bicker for the duration of the hour, which Sarutobi-sensei deemed as "bonding time.") Jiraiya had always been late more often than not, it didn't take a genius to decipher that, but what was unusual was that recently he began disappearing for long periods of time. Tsunade scratched her head. Weird. It was not like Jiraiya to NOT be jumping out of a tree and attempting to bribe her into a date. Come to think of it, nobody had seen Jiraiya often around lately. Tsunade made a mental note to be on the lookout for him. While she thought that, a loud scuffling came from the bushes.

"Jiraiya! There you are!" He was breathing heavily. Sweat ran down his face. Tsunade wondered if she herself looked equally terrible.

"You're late!" her brow was wrinkled. _Duh, don't state the obvious_, inner Tsunade scorned at her.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, was slightly surprised to find her alone. "Where's Orochimaru and Sarutobi-sensei?" he asked.

"Jiraiya, I'm surprised you noticed," Tsunade stuck out her tongue. "I have no idea."

Orochimaru is NEVER late, Tsunade-_hime_. Even Sarutobi-sensei isn't THIS late," said the young toad sannin, receiving a very disconcerting glare from Tsunade in the process. It was then when a wonderful idea entered Jiraiya's very perverted mind.

"Tsunade..." his cheeks were rosy. "Let's go swimming to the Mizutakenega waterfall!"

Tsunade was almost shocked he didn't say anything perverted. Then, she realized he hinting about perving. Then, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

"What?" Jiraiya tilted his head innocently, giving her his best puppy dog expression.

Tsunade, on her part, felt like punching him. "I nearly drowned in that river, remember? Oh yeah, you would've been eaten alive in that bucket if Orochi-kun and I hadn't saved your lazy ass!"

Jiraiya flushed angrily. "That was a long time ago, flat-chested Tsunade." They bickered before moping in angry silence for a moment.

Tsunade crossed her arms around her flat chest_. Jiraiya's up to something. I just know it._ Sometimes while training, Jiraiya would mysteriously disappear for hours, sometimes even days at a time. Instead of being excessively worried like he was on all other disappearances, Sarutobi acted not in the least bit concerned. That likely meant sensei knew about Jiraiya's whereabouts. Was he perving? No, he may be a fool, but even Jiraiya wasn't that stupid. She could sense Jiraiya's chakra one moment, the next his chakra suddenly disappeared. It wasn't gone altogether, Tsunade knew that for certain, but it meant Jiraiya had been going some considerable distance.

"Tsunade, earth to Tsunade?" Jiraiya waved a hand in front of Tsunade's face.

Lost in a train of thought, Tsunade ignored him. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't just Jiraiya that had been missing for a while, Orochimaru had been disappearing at some point. Whenever she remarked that Sarutobi-sensei was late for practice, Orochimaru just shrugged, like he knew something she didn't. She had seen Sarutobi-sensei training Orochimaru a lot more often than he bothered to train either Jiraiya or her. She knew Orochimaru was an avid learner, and also knew he trained daily throughout the woods of Konoha, as she could usually sense his chakra somewhere close, dark and pulsing as she pictured concentration flowing through his pale form, snake-like eyes closed one second, open the next with a killing intensity. Right now she could barely make out his chakra, as with Sarutobi-sensei, that likely meant they weren't near their usual training spot. Tsunade bit her lip. She was being kept out of the loop, and she was _not_ happy about it.

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya shook his hand vigorously in her face. Angrily, Tsunade punched him in the face, sending him flying.

"Hey, what was that for, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya morosely touched the swelling bump on his cheek.

"Jiraiya, perhaps you'd like to tell me why I sense that your chakra disappears every so often?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell you..." he glanced away from Tsunade. His training at Mount Myoboku seemed intensely private to him. Suddenly, Jiraiya grinned. "I won't tell you!"

"Jiraiya, I'm telling you this is important!" Tsunade clenched her hands into fists.

"Well, Tsunade-hime, I might tell you if you promise me something."

"What, baka? If you're attempting to ask me out on a date, the answer is still NO!" she saw the telltale guilty blush on Jiraiya's face.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask. For a second Jiraiya looked almost lost. Her face fell. Jiraiya turned his back on her and sat down, legs crossed.

"Okay." Tsunade crossed her arms again. "Jiraiya."

With an almost hopeful expression on his mopey face, Jiraiya reluctanctly turned his head to study her. "What do you want, flat-chested Tsunade-chan?" he was pouting. A fly landed on his nose and he swatted it away, screeching.

Tsunade doubled over laughing at that. "Never mind, I forgot I was gonna say." She didn't notice his wistful expression or his gaze creeping to her face.

"Tsunade-chan."

"Yeah?"

"Let's go to that waterfall. I'm thirsty."

"Fine, baka. But only this once."

* * *

Up in the Hokage's tower, the young prodigy stood next to the Hokage. Orochimaru's eyes glimmered with the promise of strength as Sarutobi described to him the basics of the new jutsus he would learn.

"Orochimaru, you must be aware that the whole village knows you're a prodigy."

The serpentine boy smirked. "Of course I'm aware. They all saw me destroy my opponents during the chuunin exams, didn't they? I don't believe my tactics would be so easily forgotten."

Sarutobi felt slightly unsettled upon hearing more than four words come out of Orochimaru's mouth, but he convinced himself that was normal. After all, Hiruzen had been proud and astonished to see Orochimaru use his newly mastered jutsus in play during the chuunins. He had been strong, swift, breathtaking to watch...fierce. The Hokage himself had felt taken aback at the intensity of his atacks. "Ah, I see. Of course, you shocked the whole auditorium with your Hayaiitsu technique. You mastered that technique at an incredible rate. Excellent execution indeed."

"What will I learn?" Orochimaru's slit-pupiled eyes shone with an inquisitive gleam.

"There is an infinite amount of jutsu to be learnt, Orochimaru-kun. Don't be too hasty." In one swift stride, the hokage walked in front of the pupil. "As for now...Orochimaru-kun, I trust that you have noticed the slight altercation in the village.

"Yes."

"And what is it?"

"Gaito Gai has attempted ninjutsu, but somehow did the oiroke no jutsu technique instead, a jutsu relatively unknown."

"Absolutely. Young Gaito has attempted to reverse the effects of the jutsu, but if anything, as much as a quarter of the males had been turned into kunoichi. Normally, they would change back to their true gender on their own, but Gaito has made a slight…misapplication. Orochimaru, I trust I have taught you the reverse technique. I want you to turn them back into males."

Hiruzen could see the question in Orochimaru's eyes.

"Ah, you must be wondering how to recognize the real females between the turned. Well, there will be a difference in behaviour. You may recognize some of the turned, as it is their female forms, after all. Lastly, my advice for your is to trust your intuition.

"Yes, sensei."

* * *

**(=)=(=)=(=)**

The strange sense of atmosphere that pervaded Tsunade's mind continued to bug her. She had a vague feeling of unease- something was definitely off, but she just couldn't pinpoint was that "something" was. Every time she had the vaguest sense of what was going on, it slipped away from her, like a fly narrowly avoiding the fate of being squashed on the underside of a flyswatter. Jiraiya, on the other hand, appeared cheerful and unbothered (Tsunade surmised the reason was because he was alone with her, and he hadn't gotten punched...yet.)

A young Hyuuga girl was talking to another girl in the village Tsunade had never seen before. She looked to be about eight, the same age as Himeko Hyuuga, and there was something unmistakably familiar about her face. They were sitting together in matching formal poses under the thick branches of a weeping willow tree. The whispering duo would have gone unnoticed had Tsunade not managed to sense a vague chakra emitted from their direction. Tsunade walked closer to inspect the unknown girl, with Jiraiya tagging along happily at her heels. "Tsunade-chan, aren't we going to Mizutakenega?"

The two younger girls turned their heads at the interruption to acknowledge the source of the noise. The Hyuuga girl looked slightly frightened as she looked at Jiraiya, who stared back oddly. Her expression turned to one of relief when she saw Tsunade-chan. It was Himeko Hyuuga. "Tsunade-sama!" she said. The young girl was thoroughly distressed.

"What's wrong, Himeko-chan?" Tsunade inquired, patting the top of the young girl's head.

Himeko looked unsure. "U-um, you see..." her wrist was suddenly grabbed by the other girl.

"It's okay, Himeko-chan. I know I'll be like this forever." Tsunade was once again struck by how familiar the other girl looked. She possessed long raven-coloured hair parted in the middle and onyx eyes, much like the Uchiha. Uchiha...? Tsunade looked again. She could've sworn she recognized the girl, but much like the aura of mystery that surrounded the events of the day, she only felt uncertainty. Shooting a look of hatred in Tsunade's direction, the girl stomped off, dragging a protesting Himeko with her. The girl cast one final glance back at Tsunade, who quirked an eyebrow in reply.

"What was that all about?" Jiraiya asked, utterly confused, for who could blame him?

Tsunade shrugged. "Who knows." The unsettled feeling in her gut only grew worse.

The waters of Mizutakenaga were warm, Tsunade reflected, as her and the annoying baka a.k.a Jiraiya walked along the surface. With a yell and a great splash, Jiraiya tumbled headfirst into the water. Tsunade simply rolled her eyes. "You baka! Not again!"

Jiraiya rubbed his head where the rock had hit, grumbling unheard obscenities under his breath at the blonde princess before him. Even for Tsunade-hime, she was unusually bothered today. Something behind her shifted, however, and Jiraiya moved quickly to pull Tsunade out of the way.

Tsunade cursed. "What was that for, baka?"

"There was something behind you, flat-chested Tsunade!" he pointed a finger at her.

"Liar!"

"Smartypants!"

"LI-AHHHHHHHH!" A kunai whizzed between them, causing Jiraiya and Tsunade to both stumble back in equal measures of surprise and shock. There was no time for fear as a figure leapt towards the two sannin in a brawling stance, sending Tsunade skidding across the surface of the water. Jiraiya's eyes widened as the figure grew closer and closer...large amber eyes framed in snake-like markings, long, black hair, pasty pale skin...WTF?

"Orochimaru, you bastard!" Jiraiya yelled. Suddenly the attacker froze, flipping around in backhand handspring to face Jiraiya from an equal distance. "What?"

Just as suddenly, Tsunade was behind the attacker, holding a kunai to his throat. Tsunade's vice-like grip and the combined shock on the attacker's part made it near impossible to break through her grip. "You. Who are you?"

* * *

Thanks to all my reviewers so far! Every single one of you! It would be...insensible to compile a list of all your names, so instead, I shall thank you all here. Thank you, xie xie, arigato, merci (or does that mean something else?)...yeah, you get my point.

AtVanishingPt brought up the fact about the waterfall created solely for Naruto's training, something which escaped my notice xP For the story's sake, let's say there was a waterfall in that location before Naruto was even born, but the waterfall mysteriously dried up and was put back into place by Yamato. :'3 I've chosen a name for this waterfall: Mizutakenega (literally: tall water). Meanwhile, thank you for informing me of this discrepancy, I'll fix it as soon as possible.

Oh the joys of fanfiction.


	5. Oiroke no Orochimaru PART II

**Oiroke no Orochimaru PART 2**

`/`/`/`/`/`

Orochimaru suppressed a sigh. This was proving to be quite troublesome. Most of the victims of the Oiroke no jutsu were far too ashamed to show up, believing they would remain women forever. So far, only one "girl" had come forward.

Making handsigns in advance, he had put his hand on the ninja-turned kunoichi's forehead and murmured "release". The release jutsu was a genjutsu, as you had to focus all your mental concentration on the object (or person) on hand in order to undo the bind that was subconsciously trapping them in. With a loud POOF, the "kunoichi" returned to his regular form. Tearfully (as in happily), he had scampered away after boying to the snake boy.

A young girl he had never seen before was dragging She couldn't have been an academy student, otherwise he'd have seen her before. The girl's eyes met Orochimaru and suddenly he knew. It wasn't gut instinct, it was the resemblance to a certain young Uchiha clan member. _Kato Uchiha?_

Kato was an academy student, another of the Uchiha clan. His telltale firm personality was visible even in female form by the way "she" dragged away the Hyuuga girl. Orochimaru vaguely wondered what on earth an Uchiha was doing with a Hyuuga. Though they had no deep hatred like the Uchiha and Senju clan, the second of which was Tsunade's clan, Uchihas and Hyuugas were by no means friends, either.

Quickly, Orochimaru grabbed the child's arm as "she" was running away and placed a hand on "her" forehead, shouting "release!"

POOF! Kato looked surprisingly down at himself before the Hyuuga girl tearfully hugged him.

"What did you do?" the Uchiha boy asked him.

"Reverse jutsu. Hokage's orders."

Smirking, Orochimaru continued his mission, walking away from the Uchiha kid who was staring angrily at his retreating back. _The thing about brats.._

Puzzled, Orochimaru continued his walk. Gaito Gai had tremendously failed at Oiroke no jutsu. Jiraiya had told him that the Oiroke no jutsu, or sexy jutsu, was supposed to turn the person into a provocative girl. So far, however, most of the victims of the jutsu only changed gender-wise, not age, and others had magically grown fat or abnormally tall or short. They were all dressed in borrowed kimonos or yukata, (Orochimaru surmised they were either borrowed or stolen clothing) which fell to the ground as he reversed the effects of the jutsu, revealing ninja in the clothes they were originally wearing. Boy, was Orochimaru glad he made the right decision: avoid Konoha's green beast. The future father of Maito Gai, Gaito Gai, was only five, yet he was tumultuous in his own self-training. Too bad he wasn't nearly as talented as Orochimaru, the snake sannin thought proudly. Only him. Only he _could_.

* * *

"Orochimaru! What's gotten into you?" Jiraiya shouted. Out of nowhere, his teammate had attacked him. Though they weren't exactly friends (even though Jiraiya liked to think they were), he didn't think Orochimaru would really betray him.

After all, they were teammates, right? Then again, Jiraiya thought, perhaps he was wrong.

"He's not Orochimaru, you baka!" Tsunade shouted in reply. "Orochimaru's not a girl.

"Ehhhh?" surprised, Jiraiya raised one eyebrow and let his eyes roam down the "Orochimaru's" shirt…WHAT THE?

Since when did Orochimaru grow considerably large breasts? Heh, he made Tsunade-chan look even flatter, if that were possible. It took a moment for Jiraiya to realize that the attacker, however, was NOT Orochimaru.

"I'm NOT a girl!" the imposter spat, struggling in Tsunade's grasp. He, or she, was considerably weaker than Orochimaru. She noticed the imposter smelled like honey and spice- cinnamon, maybe? Orochimaru did not smell like that. What did he smell like again? Tsunade mentally tried to remember. He smelled like freshly washed laundry and

"Hold on to him," Tsunade said, throwing the imposter to Jiraiya, whom Jiraiya kept in a tight grip.

Tsunade stared. Whoever this imposter was, she (or he) did remarkably look like Orochimaru. Pale, almost white, skin, almond-shaped eyes, long, black hair, and attractive, slightly feminine features. She noticed subtle differences, however. The imposter wore a salmon pink yukata, a colour Orochimaru wouldn't have been caught dead in (though the only clothes he did ever wear was that simple white yukata.) The imposter had slightly shorter bangs and hair that was parted on the opposite side of Orochimaru's (if she had remembered correctly). Imposter's eye markings were not nearly as long as the snake sannin's, and they were black in colour, not pale purple. Also, his/her eyes were dark brown, and not slit-pupiled.

Finally Tsunade asked, "what village are you from?"

"I'm from here. Konohagakure!" the imposter spat, narrowing his/her eyes at Tsunade.

Yup. Definitely not Orochimaru. The voice was high-pitched and feminine, neither of those qualities matched up to her less-perverted teammate's.

"You sure? I'm pretty sure I've never seen you around here!"

The unfamiliar girl/boy fought out of Jiraiya's weak grasp, trying to run.

"You're not going anywhere!" Jiraiya said, latching on to the imposter's arms.

Tsunade held a kunai to the imposter's throat, making escape virtually impossible. "You either come with us to the hokage or DIE!"

Jiraiya knew that was an empty threat but the imposter, on the other hand, didn't.

Gulping, the imposter said, "I have something to explain to you both."

* * *

**`/`/`/`/`/`**

Nearly all of the victims of the Oiroke no jutsu had been reversed back to their correct gender. There was just one left, he confirmed as half the mothers in the village hugged their sons gratefully. Instead of acting fearful, the mothers had all thanked him gratefully, hugging their children. Orochimaru realized with a start that he had the trust of almost everyone in the village.

"That boy, he's a prodigy."

"He's a great asset to our village."

"I heard he's an orphan! How much he must have struggled!

Orochimaru's stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"Ruka-kuuuun! Ruka-kunnnnn!" A large, rotund old woman scrambled around the market streets of Konoha, shouting.

Sudden interest seized the young prodigy. Normally, Orochimaru ignored everyone, but something told him this had something to do with Gaito Gai's jutsu.

"Madam, what's wrong?" Orochimaru questioned, once he was in closer proximity to the old woman.

The old woman's kindly face crumpled in tears. "It's my grandson, Ruka! He's run off into the woods this morning and still hasn't come back!"

"Oh" Orochimaru had no idea how to respond.

The old woman sobbed more, growing more panicked by the second. "What if he's eaten by bears? What if enemy nin caught him?"

"Madam, calm down, calm down. Your son, tell me about him. Is he a ninja?"

"No," the old woman sniffled. "He's just a village boy, following in his father's footsteps to be a chef."

This could be troublesome. "What does he look like?"

Blinking away her tears, the old woman's eyes widened as he studied a confused Orochimaru. "Oh my, dearie, he looks quite a bit like you."

* * *

"…So in the end, I ran here. I couldn't let my grandma see me like this. I mean, what a shame?"

The girl was now sitting in front of Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were listening to her story quite intensely.

"So you're saying, an ugly green guy made weird hand gestures and an explosion occurred. When the smoke dissipated, you became a girl?"

The "girl" nodded. "My name is Ruka Hatsushiha. I'm not a ninja, unlike you guys. I'm going to inherit my father's restaurant when I grow up."

Tsunade wasn't relaxed, just yet. "If you're not a ninja, why do you have kunai?"

"My father gave them to me, in case I stumble into danger."

Jiraiya and Tsunade visibly relaxed. However, there was one problem still on their minds.

The boy brought up the topic himself. "Is there a way to change me back into a boy? I hate this form!" Ruka raised his slender arms in exasperation.

Tsunade scowled, but she did feel sympathetic. "How bout we take you to the hokage tower? Up there, there are nurses and doctors to look after you. Besides, the hokage could help you!" Tsunade averted her eyes at Jiraiya. "Speaking of the hokage, where is Sarutobi-sensei? You said you've seen him!"

Sweatdropping, Jiraiya backed off. "Err..umm."

Ruka interrupted, this time, smiling. "I'm so glad! My grandma must be worried about me! I can't let her see me like this…"

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya's faces visibly softened.

"Hey."

The two sannin spun around. "Orochimaru, it's you!"

"Hand over the kid." At the snake sannin's words, Ruka's eyes widened.

"Why? He's no enemy."

"H-he looks like me." Ruka pointed a shaking finger at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru sweatdropped before turning back to Tsunade and Jiraiya. "There's been a discrepancy in the village. Sensei told me to tell you this. Gaito Gai has been attempting ninjutsu that is way beyond his level. As a result, half the males in Konoha have been turned into females."

"I'm sure glad I wasn't one of them," Jiraiya chuckled. Tsunade shushed him with a death glare.

"Gaito Gai. That little kid in the green leotard, greasy bowl-cut, and caterpillar eyebrows?" Tsunade raised her her own delicate blonde eyebrows. "So that's who Ruka meant by ugly green monster!"

Orochimaru nodded, then faced his currently female look-a-like. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ruka Hatsushiha, son of Konoha's greatest barbecue chef, Donka Hatsushiha!" the imposter said with great dignity.

"I thought as much. Your grandmother is very worried about you."

A guilty look crossed Ruka's face. "I see."

"The hokage sent me to reverse the jutsu. Close your eyes."

Smiling, Ruka did such.

"Reverse!" Orochimaru's palm hit his forehead with alarming force. Ruka disappeared in a puff of smoke, with the salmon-pink kimono draped in the grass.

Tsunade gasped as Ruka turned back into a guy. His hair had become shorter, shoulder-length in the process, and he donned a blue yukata over a masculine figure. In facial features and height, he still resembled Orochimaru. …

…He was kinda…hot…

…

"Haha!" Jiraiya cheered.

Tsunade tilted her head. "You know, you're actually quite good-looking."

A faint blushed crossed over chef's son's cheeks. "Thanks. Hey, you're not bad yourself."

Now it was Tsunade's turn to blush, though she didn't say anything because her two team mates were both staring at her with equal mixtures of awe (more like boredom on Orochimaru's part, jealousy on Jiraiya's.

"Hey, I'm better than you." Jiraiya stepped up to Ruka. "Not man enough to fight me, huh?"

"Jiraiya, you baka! He's not even a ninja, and besides, he'd probably win anyway."

A vein bulged in Jiraiya's forehead. "Oh yeah?"

"Lay it off, knucklehead," said Orochimaru.

Steam visibly came out of Jiraiya's ears, with Ruka, Tsunade, and Orochimaru sweatdropping.

"Would you rather go out with this guy or Orochimaru, flat-chested Tsunade?" Jiraiya yelled angrily. A wide smirk settled on his face as Tsunade visibly flushed. She dared not to look at either Ruka or Orochimaru. She could feel their gazes on her as she blushed. For a brief moment Tsunade glanced at Ruka, then at Orochimaru from peripheral vision. Who was better looking, anyways?

"Better them than you, Jiraiya," she finally replied, resulting in an angry staredown involving lightning prickling between them. (**A/N**: _Think Harry Potter vs. Voldy in the final scene of Deathly Hallows_ ;P)

The angry silence was interrupted by Orochimaru. "Let's go report to Sarutobi-sensei."

Ruka and Tsunade lapsed into a contented chat behind Orochimaru, with a visibly fuming Jiraiya in the back.

The Hatsushiha family was a warm one, the aroma of fresh cooking filling the entirety of the house. Drool leaked out of Jiraiya's mouth as he breathed deeply the wonderful scent of homemade soup.

Hatsushiha baa-chan was overjoyed. "Thank you so much, you three. Thank you for returning my son to me." She had first enveloped Ruka in a tight hug, then Tsunade, Jiraiya, her newly found grandson together. Orochimaru watched awkwardly, inwardly glad at the same return. His task at hand was complete.

"Come here," she gestured to Orochimaru. Startled, he walked toward the old woman. Hatsushiha baa-chan wrapped him in a warm embrace. "You grow up to be a strong ninja, okay?"

Orochimaru nodded. "I promise, ma'am."

The old woman smiled in return. "And _you," _she gestured to Ruka. "You show your father what you're made of. Be the best cook!"

Warmly, she ruffled both their heads affectionately, ruffling both their heads.

Both boys were blushing slightly, getting a rise out of Jiraiya and a giggle from Tsunade.

The sun was beginning to set when the three young sannin came to report to hokage-sama. After recovering from their earlier good moods, Tsunade had started to become suspicious. She bit her lip. She would save the questions for later.

"Good job, Orochimaru!" he smiled warmly at his snake apprentice. "You too, Jiraiya, Tsunade."

Orochimaru, Orochimaru, Orochimaru, Jiraiya thought angrily. It's always Orochimaru. I'm the special one here!

Tsunade coughed. All eyes turned to her.

"Sensei, you told me to be at our usual training spot at 11 am, and only Jiraiya came. What happened?"

"Oh, ha..ha..about that," Hiruzen laughed. "I first received reports last night about Gaito Gai's ninjutsu attempt. Since so far, Tsunade is already the most adept at genjutsu, including reverse genjutsu and Jiraiya would only make things worse-"

"Hey!"

"Be quiet baka!"

"-I decided it was Orochimaru's turn to practice the reverse jutsu. As you can see, he did an excellent job. I had to go speak to young Gaito Gai, so I left you and Jiraiya to train together. After all, you both could do with some teamwork."

The toad and the slug sannin glared at each other, visibly fuming.

Finally, Jiraiya gave up with a sigh. "Still, Sarutobi-sensei, Tsunade and I went swimming in Mizutakenega."

That earned him a punch in the head. "We did NOT go swimming!"

"Hehe, flat-chested Tsunade."

Sarutobi-sensei sighed. "Children."

"By the way, what was the jutsu again?" Jiraiya asked, curiously. It couldn't be the Oiroke no jutsu, (a.k.a the sexy jutsu)…right?

Hiruzen averted his eyes, "this particular kind of jutsu is simply know as the "Oiroke no jutsu. It can turn anyone into an attractive, ahem, well-developed woman."

"And people under the effects of the jutsu aren't wearing any clothes…right?" Jiraiya leered at Sarutobi-sensei."

"Yes, yes, of course…hold on a second, Jiraiya. How do you know this?

* * *

Meanwhile, five-year old Gaito Gai was furious at himself. Why was he unable to master the Oiroke no jutsu? About a year ago, he had seen a strange white-haired boy with very distinctive eye-markings. Performing some hand-gestures while shouting something like, "Tori, ino, hitsugi," Gaito looked in shock as the boy disappeared with a POOF! In his place stood a white-haired girl with red eye-markings and two pigtails. Gaito was in love.

At that moment, Gaito was bedazzled.

Never had he seen such amazing jutsu!

From them on, he tried to conjure up the white-haired girl by attempting the jutsu he saw that boy did, and so far, he had yet to succeed.

* * *

Sarutobi could almost sigh. Instead, he crossed his arms and frown-smiled at his three students.

"We're going on a real mission next week."

* * *

**A/N:** Cough cough, I wonder who this "strange white-haired boy with the very distinctive eye-markings" is.

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

For practice, the sannin summon their animal counterparts for practice before going on an A-rank mission. Will their teamwork falter? Or will it blossom under desperate conditions?

Fluff and badassery included.


End file.
